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[Samira Kernher]

EVE Source
Becoming a Capsuleer

Pod pilot candidates are a rare breed. Only 14 percent of all those who apply are able to make it past prescreening into basic training, and only around 5 percent of those manage to make it through the entire program and go on to become capsuleers. Prospective candidates must satisfy a broad range of criteria, including but not limited to: 20/20 vision, perfect hearing, blood pressure within a highly limited range, peak physical conditioning (able to run at least 60 kilometers without pause), a complete genome profile that excludes any possibility of genetic defects or hereditary disease, ninety-eighth percentile intelligence, a degree in a sufficiently advanced technical field, and, provided no grants or scholarships are in the picture, an enormous amount of money. Above all, the candidate must possess an ability to keep his mind working along several different tracks at once, giving full attention to all of them simultaneously.

Once past prescreening, a candidate is given a thorough grounding in capsule and cloning technology, as well as the specifics of what sets a capsule-fitted starship apart from a traditional, bridge-commanded vessel. He learns how to manage crews on varying sizes of ship, how to conduct basic maintenance, and myriad other tricks of the trade. The length of this book-learning phase varies between schools, though it is never less than one full year and very seldom more than two. The period culminates in a six-hour-long oral exam, during which the candidate's depth of knowledge is assessed, as well as his ability to think on his feet and respond to unexpected sets of variables. Regardless of how well a candidate has been doing up until this point, if he does not convince his instructor beyond the shadow of a doubt that his knowledge is bulletproof, he will be failed out of the program and sent home.

Once the initial academic phase is over, a two-year period of grueling physical orientation begins. After being fitted with the requisite implants for capsule interfacing (and provided their bodies don't outright reject the implants), prospects are subjected to days upon end of deprivation tanks, zero-G environments, and shock simulations intended to acclimate the body and mind to the rigors of travel through warp tunnels and wormholes. This, by far, is the training phase where the largest proportion of candidates fail out of the program. Most of the ones that do simply cannot tolerate the constant barrage of physical pain and conditioning, interspersed with interminable periods of sensory deprivation. About to lose their sanity or patience or both, they sign their own termination slips. Some refuse to give up, but are not rewarded for their persistence: this phase of training has the highest mortality rate of the entire program. Exact numbers are not available, but it is estimated that roughly a tenth of call candidates lose their lives at some point in this phase.

For the few who manage to make it through orientation, the learning can begin in earnest. The last two years of the program are devoted exclusively to developing the skills needed to be an effective pilot, including hardpoint configuation, warp mechanics, shield system operation, signature analysis, astrometrics, and a host of associated skills. For the first of these two years, candidates will fly solely in simulations; for the second year, they are finally allowed to fly their first capsule-fitted frigates.

Once a candidate makes it through the entire five years of mental and physical hardship and exertion, he is ready to face the final test: in order to gain his certification and become a full-fledged capsuleer, he must submit to voluntary euthanasia, give up the body he was born in, and clone into a new version of himself, for the first time coming squarely face to face with death. Despite the prodigious investment of time and energy the preceding years have demanded, it's surprising to note how many candidates cannot make this final step, forgoing all they've learned because they can't bear to cross the Rubicon into posthumanity.

Some additional considerations:

• Time to complete the actual capsule program is about 5-6 years. When combined with the required higher education degree (2-4 years at a college or university), you're looking at a total training time of around 7 to 10 years after basic education.
  
  
• Capsuleers are generally highly intelligent, and very wealthy. However, exceptions to this, as well as to the education and time requirements, may exist where culture, social ties, or need enable a capsuleer to buck the norms. Amarr Holders and their relatives may get special passes, for example, and Caldari capsuleers are likely to be tested early in life and, if meeting the qualifications, pushed through the program sooner, and potentially quicker, than in other nations.
  
  
• Characters must have an appropriate genetic makeup, but this is not the only requirement for becoming a capsuleer. Matching the required genetic profile just means you aren't declined immediately due to physical incompatibility.
  
  
• Characters must be exceptionally physically fit for the training period. Being a capsuleer by itself does not necessarily require a strong physicality, but the two years of harsh physical conditioning does a number on the body. Stargate/wormhole travel is demanding; canonically everyone gets "jump sickness", even from normal gate travel, but capsuleers and other space travelers train to endure it.
  
  
• Capsuleer dementia, often used as an explanation for the large propensity of less-than-sane capsuleers in New Eden, likely develops during the physical conditioning portion of training. Most capsuleers who go into the program are physically and mentally healthy, but their sanity may not survive the program.
  
  
• Implants and all training are done in the original body.
  
  
• Cloning is not physically required for becoming a capsuleer. However, the schools now mandate it as a sort of exit exam before a capsuleer may be formally certified. Therefore this requirement may not apply in certain exceptional situations, such as characters who went through the program before the mandate, Amarr royalty, nobility, or clergy, criminal characters with fabricated certifications, or similar.
  
  
• Alpha capsuleers are rushed through training, as they can be injected the skills they need far easier than with traditional cloning technology. Alpha capsuleer programs probably entail beginning with the physical conditioning first, then replace the remaining learning portions with immediate euthanasia into alpha clone and skill injecting the required knowledge. Alpha programs are considerably faster and cheaper as a result, and likely more mentally destabilizing. Former Sisters of EVE scientists like Taya Akira have noted the danger of this technology. Use of alpha clone technology also allows a much wider range of candidates to capsuleer programs, as it is cheaper to enroll in alpha training compared to traditional omega training.
  
  
• Avoiding mind lock -- the tendency of going into a proprioception-failure-induced coma for unacclimatized people using the capsule -- is not guaranteed even for genetically compatible capsuleers. The physical conditioning part of the capsule program includes training the body to resist mind locking, and teaching the capsuleer mental techniques to pull one's self out of it should it ever occur.

"Have you ever had one of those dreams where you're doing something and you suddenly get the sensation that you're falling, and you get sort of yanked back to life?"

"All the time."

"That's a momentary proprioception failure. Your mind just loses track of where your body is. Now, what happens when you get hooked into the capsule is that the mind link interface replaces your proprioception. The ship's hull replaces your own body outline. Its shape becomes your shape. And if your mind isn't a hundred percent used to this intrusion, it gets confused. Our innate body compass is so strong that it needs to be sublimated entirely before it can be replaced. That's what the sensory deprivation's about. If your prio gets scrambled, your mind enters into this sort of closed loop, oscillating between body images. People can pull out of it with certain focus techniques, but they need to be trained really hard for a really long time. Usually people just go unconscious and that's it. When they wake up, complete irreversible catatonia."

"But why? Why does that happen?" I asked.

"Some quirk of our biochemistry," [Del] said. "They haven't figured out why it happens yet, just how to train people to prevent it. And even still, there's never any guarantee it won't happen."

"Sobering thought," I said.

"Well," he replied, fixing his bloodshot eyes on me and breaking into a grin. "Nobody said this immortality thing was gonna be easy."

If you want to support CCP Games and EVE Online, please consider purchasing a copy of EVE Source.

[Samira Kernher]

Posted because I realized that this is kind of basic information that all players should be aware of when making their characters. I hope it helps for people working on their character backstories!

[Haruchai Vidaraltyr]

It's very helpful, thank you.

[Tannia Ambrye]

Thanks Samira,

I think I've read that before, but for some reason I either ignored it, or misunderstood it. I really appreciate your helping me get that sorted. This post will prove really helpful for newbies like me.

[Jocca Quinn]

EVE Source
Becoming a Capsuleer

he is ready to face the final test: in order to gain his certification and become a full-fledged capsuleer, he must submit to voluntary euthanasia, give up the body he was born in, and clone into a new version of himself, for the first time coming squarely face to face with death.

Just one thing, this in itself is a retcon by CCP. In the beginning there was no mention of having to die to become a capsuleer. Some of us managed to hold on to our original selves for several years ...

[Samira Kernher]

I wouldn't call it a retcon. What it is is an IC development of the program's requirements. As I mention in my own comments later in the post:

Cloning is not physically required for becoming a capsuleer. However, the schools mandate it as a sort of exit exam before a capsuleer may be formally certified. Therefore this requirement may not apply in certain exceptional situations, such as characters who went through the program before the mandate, Amarr royalty, nobility, or clergy, criminal characters with fabricated certifications, or similar.

My character is a pre-euthanization-mandate one as well.

[Velarra]

Kindly appreciated thread and information all in one place. 

[Silver Night]

I like that they have the criminal characters bit in there. Leaves the door open for a lot more characters and that bit overall leaves a lot of leeway which I'm generally in favor of. 

[Teptae]

Very informative post. Thank you.
I seem to remember reading something about Amarr capsuleers being older than the others. Is anyone familiar with that and know of a source that would support or debunk this?

[Samira Kernher]

Very informative post. Thank you.
I seem to remember reading something about Amarr capsuleers being older than the others. Is anyone familiar with that and know of a source that would support or debunk this?

No source saying that Amarr capsuleers are any older than capsuleers of other regions, but Amarr culture values age and therefore older Amarr are more respected. Amarr also often use makeup and such to appear older instead of younger.

[Teptae]

Thank you for the reply. So would it be reasonable for an Amarrian to become a capsuleer at 57?

[Samira Kernher]

Thank you for the reply. So would it be reasonable for an Amarrian to become a capsuleer at 57?

Certainly! Nothing restricting how old a person can be when they make the choice to become a capsuleer.

[Teptae]

Thank you! This just saved my character from a potential biomass. 

[Vladimir Korff]

Thank you for posting this, Samira. I think I should buy EVE:Source to get the full picture.

Unfortunately, I've started developing my character's backstory without realising that capsuleer training has been covered by the official canon, so my version diverges significantly from EVE:Source. At the same time, I feel that a few aspects of the official version do not make much sense. Because of that I am not inclined to change my story to comply with the canon, even if such decision relegates it to the Apocrypha status.

Anyway, here are my comments on the official story.

• Physical condition should not be an essential criterion for candidate selection. I don't understand why it matters if capsuleers' strength lies in their ability to pilot a ship by the power of their minds. Although I admit that interstellar travel and space combat put some demands on the body, an ability to run 60 km is not something that can mitigate them.
• Book-learning phase is unnecessary for capsuleers who are capable of injecting skills. Why waste time on studying an e-book on screen when it can be done in the background with a skillbook?
• Still, the learning test is required as capsuleers are expected to use vast amounts of information studied through skillbooks. That test, however, should be focused on a capsuleer's ability to use effectively what he or she already knows but had no practice with. It is very specialised and is fundamentally different from an oral exam which simply checks memory. And memory is a given when one learns using a skillbook.
• Apparently, EVE:Source assumes that fitting capsule interface implants immediately enables a capsuleer to control a pod. This is where I most strongly disagree with the canon. Imagine that you suddenly have two more limbs. How do you control them? They will be paralysed! If you look at a motor homunculus, you'll see that each motor function has a dedicated area in the brain. If you simply attach a limb, it will not be initially associated with any part of the brain. For me, this is the single greatest challenge that candidates face - finding and developing a brain area which controls new appendages. This part of training is also complicated by the fact that it is very individual - there is no common approach to establishing a connection between the mind and the limb. That is why most candidates fail at this stage, according to my story.
• Fitting brain-machine interface to the original body seems unnecessarily dangerous and probably ineffective. If we want to create a person who can control more "body parts" than the nature designed, then it makes sense to add more neural paths. They should start at the interface slots and end in the brain. Such operation would require very invasive and very risky surgery. At the same time, it is much easier to grow a clone with genetic modifications which add required nerves and change the spine shape for easy implantation of interface slots.
• The previous point leads to a requirement to "die" and be cloned even before the candidate passes all the tests. Here I agree with EVE:Source that it scares away a lot of potential candidates.

Do you think these comments make sense? If you are interested, you can find more details about my version of capsuleer training in my in-character blog Encapsulated starting with Who wants to live forever? post.